5 This is what the Lord says:“A curse will be placed on those who trust other people.It will happen to those who depend on people for strength.Those are the ones who have stopped trusting the Lord.
6 They are like a bush in a desert.It grows in a land where no one lives.It is in a hot and dry land with bad soil.They don’t know about the good things that God can give.
7 “But the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed.The Lord will show him that he can be trusted.
8 He will be strong, like a tree planted near water.That tree has large roots that find the water.It is not afraid when the days are hot.Its leaves are always green.It does not worry in a year when no rain comes.That tree always produces fruit.”
9 “More than anything else, a person’s mind is evil.It cannot be healed.Who can understand it?
10 But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart.I can test a person’s mind.So I can decide what each one deserves.I can give each one the right payment for what he does.”
11 Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay.That bird is like the man who gets rich by cheating.When that man’s life is half finished, he will lose his riches.At the end of his life, it will be clear he was a fool.